Fire and Ice
by Sapphire1112
Summary: Nikki, Jack, Clarissa, Max and Thomas go for an Indian meal one cold winter's evening.I do not own the characters.
1. Fire

Max and Clarissa arrived outside Jack's flat having already picked up Thomas and Nikki. Clarissa, of course, was sat in the front, with Max driving, so Jack clambered in the only free seat in the back, next to Nikki - who, being the smallest had squeezed into the middle seat."You look... urm... stunning!"

Nikki giggled. "Thanks, Jack!"

"Er, Jack?" Max quipped.

 _"Yes, Max?"_ Jack's voice came out an octave higher than usual - causing Nikki to giggle again.

"Can you like _close the door_?" Max said pointedly.

"Oh, right!" Jack shut the car door. He looked at Nikki as they drove off. Her cold hand slipped into his warm one. Jack's hands were always warm. Thomas noticed their linked hands and said nothing but he smiled inwardly to himself.

Getting out of the car, They all did up their coats up tight - it was cold and frosty outside. It was the depths of winter, snow lay thick on the ground and it was icy. Jack offered Nikki his arm and they fell behind the others as they walked, lost in their own conversation.

"You alright, love? I do love your dress" Jack squeezed Nikki's arm as she held onto his. "It's gorgeous, it brings out the..." He stopped, suddenly realising the lack of logic to the comment he begun making. Nikki looked up at him, waiting for him to finish. Great, now he was going to look like _an idiot_ in front of his best friend. "the colour in your eyes." He winced as he finished, bracing himself for her response. _What utter rubbish_!

The response came - just as he expected. "My dress is _red._ " she pointed out. "Are you saying I've got red _eyes_? Are you calling me a _vampire_?" Nikki ribbed him, lightly.

"I..." he stammered.

"I'm teasing you, sweetheart. It was a lovely thing to say!" She squeezed his arm affectionately.

"It was _utter rubbish_!" Jack spluttered, a bit too loudly. Max, Clarissa and Thomas turned around and stared at him.

Nikki giggled. "Even so Jack, it was a very sweet thing to say." Thomas, Max and Clarissa turned back around and carried on walking."So, what you planning to eat?" Nikki continued.

"I was thinking Prawn Bhuna." Jack answered "What about you?"

"Hmmm. _Medium_ curry. _interesting_! I'm gonna have Dhansak. That's _hot_! It's the _only_ way to do an idiom meal!" Nikki chuckled.

"Yeah me too." Jack had suddenly decided that Nikki was _not_ going to beat him at eating curry!

Nikki raised her eyebrows at him, playfully. "Are you _sure_ you can _handle the heat_?" she challenged him.

"Are you kidding, babe? I _breathe_ fire!"

Nikki giggled again "Yeah? well I _eat_ fire!" Jack kissed the top of her head lightly and she sighed. "I do like that mild one though. Nawabi."

Tell you what, babe. You get a dhansak, I'll get a Nawabi and we'll share them both, huh?" Jack suggested as a compromise and kissed the top of her head again.

"Mmm, sounds good, Jack" she answered.

They caught up with Thomas, who was holding the restaurant door open for them. "Come on, slow coaches - before I die of old age!"

They went in and joined Clarissa and Max, who were already sat at the table for five. "We were wondering where you'd got to!" Max quipped " _We've_ already chosen!"

"So have we" Nikki and Jack chorused in unison.

Clarissa chuckled. "Just you then, Thomas."

"Thomas studied the menu. "Korma, I reckon" He said when the lad came over. "Chicken Korma, please"

"Chicken Biriyani" Clarissa nodded, "Please."

Max was next. "Prawn Biriyani, please."

Lastly, the lad turned to Nikki and Jack. "Meat Dhansak, please." Nikki asked.

"Nawabi Chicken, please" Jack finished.

The dinners arrived. Aside from Max and Clarissa's, which both came with mixed curry and rice, the other plates came loaded with pilau rice - the curries in separate dishes..

Jack silently scooped up some of Nikki's curry onto her plate, scrapping the remainder onto his own plate. Nikki watched him intently, admiring the way his muscular arms moved and the look of concentration on his face. Jack repeated his actions with his own curry - half on Nikki's plate, half on his own.

" _What...?!_ " Max exclaimed, aghast.

"Oh, didn't we say?" Jack response to the unanswered question. "We're _sharing_!"


	2. Ice

Throughout the meal Nikki stole a few looks at Jack, who was _clearly_ trying to pretend that his eyes weren't watering from the heat of the food. Eventually, unable to stop herself, she burst into giggles. This caused Jack, who knew _exactly_ why she was giggling, to cough on his mouthful, before laughing as well. He took her hand next to his and squeezed it. She laughed again.

"Er, share the joke, anyone?" Clarissa commented.

Jack set down his knife and fork on his empty plate and took a swig of water. He cleared his throat, however, before he could speak, Nikki beat him to the punch - _as usual_!

"Haha, I win!"

"Are we missing something?" Thomas mused. "What did you _win_?" Nikki merely started giggling again and it was left to Jack to explain.

"Nikki challenged me to see who could eat the hottest curry and as usual, she _annulated_ me!"

 ***After dinner***

They all decided to go the long way back to the car, the _'scenic_ _route'_ through the park - a decision they may later come to regret. It was freezing outside, but as Clarissa had said;

 _"We could all do with the fresh air."_

Nikki and Jack walked ahead of the others this time, once again lost in their conversation - so lost in fact, they didn't even notice they were holding hands.

 _Clarissa noticed though_. The other three were not that far behind, _however_...

"Stop. Wait. _Look_!" Clarissa spoke suddenly, pointing vaguely at the sky.

"What?!" Thomas and Max looked around in vain to see what she was looking at. They tried to work out what she was pointing at... _tried_ \- and failed!

"Oh, sorry it's gone...no, _wait_ , _there_ it is!" Clarissa had finally decided what she was pointing at - a light in the sky. "Look, it's a _star_...or a _plane_!"

The two men stared at her in astonishment. Surely the woman had lost her marbles?

"But you've seen stars and planes many times before, love!" Max was now very concerned about his wife. "Sweetheart, are you _feeling_ ok?"

Clarissa tutted at him. "Oh stop it, Max. I'm perfectly fine! I was merely trying to distract you so they could have some space!" She gestured in front of them where Nikki and Jack had disappeared from view a few minutes before.

Thomas shook his head at her. "You're trying to _match_ _make_ them?"

"Oh Clarissa, love! We've had this conversation _before_..." Max sighed, "And we agreed that they need to work it out on their own!... We _agreed_!" He repeated, slightly put out that she had apparently ignored him.

"Yes, we agreed." Clarissa nodded "But I changed my mind and I _knew_ you wouldn't approve - hence the need for _stars_ _and_ _planes_!"

Nikki and Jack eventually realised they had 'lost' the others.

"Oh, what _are_ they doing?" Jack grumbled.

"One word: _'Clarissa'_!" Nikki answered simply. "I bet you _a pizza_ that she's trying to match make us!"

He sighed. "Why do I _always_ owe you a _pizza_ , Nikki?"

She grinned. "Because you're _brilliant_ at losing, sweetie!" She leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek, before adding "And I'm just _too_ good!""

Jack sighed again, "So what now?"

Nikki gigged. "Now, _you_ go and get them!"

He pouted, "Why me?"

She giggled again. "I would have thought that was _obvious_! You've got much longer legs and can run faster, so off you pop!"

" _Ok_ , then! Be back in a minute!" Just because, he couldn't see _any_ way out of it!

About three minutes or so after Jack had left, there was an awful din - a child screaming. Nikki swiftly rounded the bush she was stood next to and was by the edge of the frozen lake within seconds. A young boy of about twelve ran towards her in a very distressed state.

"My sister...my little sister...she fell through the ice...please...please help her... _please_!"

Nikki was kicking off her shoes in an instant, despite the snow-covered ground. She gestured in the direction she'd just come in. "Back there, there's a tall dark-haired man called 'Jack' and a doctor called Thomas, tell them what happened" She dropped her coat on her discarded shoes. "I'll get your sister. I'm a doctor too." She started sprinting over the frozen lake.

"Her name is 'Emily'" the boy shouted as he ran off.

Nikki reached the hole and jumped in. The sharpness of the icy water hit her like a thousand knives stabbing her all at once, it took her breath away. She gasped sharply, before ducking her head under the water to look for the missing child.

Jack had just reached the others and was about to speak, when a young boy came running towards them, yelling: _"Jack? Thomas?"_

They both turned, surprised that he apparently knew who they were. "What?"

" _My_... _my_..." He stopped in front of them, gasping. "... _sister_... _ice_... _doctor_..."

"Easy, lad." Jack patted him on the back. "Take a breath."

The youngster breathed out. "My sister...the ice broke...the doctor went...in after her...told me...to get you"

He had barely finished getting the words out, when Jack sprinted past him, with Thomas hot on his heels. Nikki by the sounds of it was, no doubt in trouble - _again_! Not to mention a little girl.

They rounded the bush where Jack had left Nikki, to see a little girl of about seven sitting by the edge of the lake, wrapped in Nikki's coat. She had got the child out then. _But where was Nikki now?_

"Hi, little one." Thomas said kindly. He crouched next to her. "Are you ok...?"

"Emily" She whispered. "I'm ok...nice lady doctor... got me out...told me to put her coat on..." She shivered and pulled Nikki's coat tighter around her.

Jack stoop up, looking around franticly, yelling: _"Nikki? NIKKI?"_

"And the nice doctor, _where_ is she?" Thomas asked the shivering child.

"I don't know." Emily whispered.

Jack bent down again. "Emily, please think. _Did you see the doctor get out?"_

Emily shook her head. " I got over here and turned around and _she wasn't there anymore_."

"No, no, no, no!" Jack kicked his shoes off and ran across the ice as fast as he could. He jumped in.

Max and Clarissa arrived with the young boy.

He dropped down beside his sister, "Emily!"

Max spoke. "Ambulance is on the way. What's happening? Where's Jack gone?"

"Went after Nikki." Thomas answered gesturing towards the hole in the ice.. They all looked towards it, _hoping_ , _praying_.

There was a sudden ripple and Jack appeared, gasping, with Nikki in his arms.

"Oh, thank God."

Thomas and Max ran across the ice. Taking Nikki from Jack, Thomas carried her to the edge, whilst Max helped Jack get out. Jack immediately ran to Nikki at the edge of the lake and pushed Thomas out of the way.

"Jack, I'm a doctor. You _have_ to let me look at her."

Nikki coughed and spluttered. She opened her eyes.

 _"Thank you! Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"_ Jack grabbed her and hugged her against his chest.

She coughed again. "Uh, Jack? Jack! _You're suffocating me!_ "

Jack released her slightly. "Sorry, sorry! I thought you were dead. _Again_!...what _the_ _hell_ were you thinking?"

"I had to save Emily!" Nikki muttered.

Emily looked over at her, "Fank you!" She whispered. "You ok?"

Nikki smiled at her. "I'm fine."

Jack sighed. "But why didn't you _get_ _out_?"

"I _couldn't_." She murmured. "I think my body went into shock from the cold, icy water. I couldn't _even_ shout for help."

Jack hugged her again. "What are they _doing_ out _alone_ , anyway? Where are their _parents_?"

"Parents are out and Granny fell asleep in front of the TV, so they thought it would be fun to sneak out!" Clarissa explained.

"Yes, and if you hadn't been trying to _match_ - _make_ , then we would have all been here when it happened!" Max added looking at her pointedly.

Nikki grinned broadly at Jack. He sighed. " _I know_! I owe you a pizza! _Again_!"

Thomas crouched down next to the children as the paramedics arrived. "So, what's your name then, mate?" He asked the little boy.

" _Jack._ " the youngster replied, causing Nikki to erupt into a fit of giggles.


End file.
